Duterte: ICC won’t help Filipinos vs drugs

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte yesterday brushed aside charges leveled against him before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in relation to the reported human rights abuses committed in his anti-drug campaign.

“Give me a little bit of time. I will finish it to the last man. I do not care what other people say. I do not give a s*** what the International Court of Justice says,” Duterte said.

“At the end of the day, if my country collapses under the weight of drugs, you will not be here to help the Filipino,” he said.

A Philippine delegation, which includes presidential spokesman Harry Roque, is currently attending the 16th Assembly of the State Parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC in New York.

Roque had earlier said the delegation would bring up the issue wherein the Philippines, being an ICC member, must be respected under the principle of complementarity, which provides that the court will only exercise jurisdiction if domestic courts are unwilling or unable to exercise jurisdiction on any crime cognizable by the ICC.

“To violate the principle of complementarity would be to violate the very basis of our consent to be bound by the Rome Statute,” Roque said. “If this will happen, then there may be a possibility that the Philippines, like the three other African states, may withdraw from the Rome Statute of the ICC.”

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Last night, Duterte recognized that he is facing charges related to his brutal drug campaign but he managed to crack a joke that he would rather be detained in Pampanga, known for its good food and delicacies.

Duterte made the remark while he recalled his closeness to former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who got him as a consultant on matters related to peace and order during the former president’s term.